[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1656 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1656

  To provide for additional resources for the Secret Service, and to 
               improve protections for restricted areas.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 26, 2015

Mr. Goodlatte (for himself, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Sensenbrenner, Ms. Jackson 
Lee, and Mr. McCaul) introduced the following bill; which was referred 
                   to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To provide for additional resources for the Secret Service, and to 
               improve protections for restricted areas.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Secret Service Improvements Act of 
2015''.

SEC. 2. PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTMENT OF DIRECTOR OF THE SECRET SERVICE.

    Section 3056 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end:
    ``(h) The Director of the Secret Service shall be appointed by the 
President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The 
Director of the Secret Service is the head of the Secret Service.''.

SEC. 3. RESTRICTED BUILDING OR GROUNDS.

    Section 1752(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ``or'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (4), by inserting ``or'' at the end; and
            (3) by inserting after paragraph (4) the following:
            ``(5) knowingly, and with the intent to impede or disrupt 
        the orderly conduct of Government business or official 
        functions, causes any object to enter any restricted building 
        or grounds when, or so that, such object, in fact, impedes or 
        disrupts the orderly conduct of Government business or official 
        functions;''.

SEC. 4. THREATS AGAINST FORMER VICE PRESIDENTS.

    Section 879 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) by redesignating paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) 
                as paragraphs (3), (4), and (5), respectively; and
                    (B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:
            ``(2) a former Vice President or a member of the immediate 
        family of a former Vice President;''; and
            (2) in subsection (b)(1)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A)--
                            (i) by striking ``subsection (a)(1)'' and 
                        inserting ``paragraphs (1) and (2) of 
                        subsection (a)''; and
                            (ii) by inserting ``or former Vice 
                        President'' after ``former President'' each 
                        place it appears; and
                    (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``subsection 
                (a)(2) and (a)(3)'' and inserting ``paragraphs (3) and 
                (4) of subsection (a)''.

SEC. 5. INCREASED TRAINING.

    Beginning in the first full fiscal year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Director of the Secret Service shall increase the 
annual number of hours spent training by officers and agents of the 
Secret Service, including officers of the United States Secret Service 
Uniformed Division established under section 3056A of title 18, United 
States Code and agents operating pursuant to section 3056 of title 18, 
United States Code, including joint training between the two.

SEC. 6. TRAINING FACILITIES.

    The Director of the Secret Service is authorized to construct 
facilities at the Rowley Training Center necessary to improve the 
training of officers of the United States Secret Service Uniformed 
Division established under section 3056A of title 18, United States 
Code and agents of the United States Secret Service Presidential 
Protective Detail, operating pursuant to section 3056 of title 18, 
United States Code.

SEC. 7. HIRING OF ADDITIONAL OFFICERS AND AGENTS.

    The Director of the Secret Service is authorized to hire not fewer 
than--
            (1) 200 additional officers for the United States Secret 
        Service Uniformed Division established under section 3056A of 
        title 18, United States Code; and
            (2) 80 additional agents for the United States Secret 
        Service Presidential Protective Detail, operating pursuant to 
        section 3056 of title 18, United States Code.

SEC. 8. EVALUATION OF VULNERABILITIES AND THREATS.

    (a) In General.--The Director of the Secret Service shall devise 
and adopt improved procedures for evaluating vulnerabilities in the 
security of the White House and threats to persons protected by the 
Secret Service, including threats posed by unmanned aerial systems or 
explosive devices.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Director of the Secret Service shall report on the 
implementation of subsection (a) to--
            (1) the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 
        Representatives;
            (2) the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate;
            (3) the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of 
        Representatives; and
            (4) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
        Affairs of the Senate.

SEC. 9. EVALUATION OF USE OF TECHNOLOGY.

    (a) In General.--The Director of the Secret Service shall devise 
and adopt improved procedures for--
            (1) evaluating the ways in which technology may be used to 
        improve the security of the White House and the response to 
        threats to persons protected by the Secret Service; and
            (2) retaining evidence pertaining to the duties referred to 
        in paragraph (1) for an extended period of time.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Director of the Secret Service shall report on the 
implementation of subsection (a) to--
            (1) the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 
        Representatives;
            (2) the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate;
            (3) the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of 
        Representatives; and
            (4) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
        Affairs of the Senate.

SEC. 10. EVALUATION OF USE OF ADDITIONAL WEAPONRY.

    The Director of the Secret Service shall evaluate the 
practicability of equipping agents and officers with weapons other than 
those provided to officers and agents of the Secret Service as of the 
date of enactment of this Act, including nonlethal weapons.

SEC. 11. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that an assessment made by the 
Secretary of Homeland Security or the Director of the Secret Service 
with regard to physical security of the White House and attendant 
grounds, and any security-related enhancements thereto should be 
accorded substantial deference by the National Capital Planning 
Commission, the Commission of Fine Arts, and any other relevant 
entities.
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